March 6, 2010

There are mornings when a mere cup of coffee just won't do it and you need a little something more to get yourself kick-started. Some mornings require an extra wallop to break through the fog.

This is cake for those mornings.
I often partake of baked goods with my morning dose of caffeine, but rarely are those treats a second source of that magical compound whose name disobeys the ol' i before e rule.

Yes, I'm a coffee-lover. More truthfully, my name is Grace and I'm addicted to coffee. That said, when I saw this recipe making use of joltin' java, I almost immediately migrated to the kitchen to whip up a batch.

As is my wont, changes were made. I left out the espresso powder simply because it's an ingredient I don't own. I added more cinnamon (shocker!), a bag of milk chocolate toffee bits, and walnuts in an attempt to achieve a flavor akin to the toffee nut latte served seasonally at your local StealyourStarbucks. Also, I opted for mini loaves for one very important reason--they're just so darn cute.

This was a stellar breakfast goodie. It's the epitome of moist, with gooey spots from the toffee bits and crunch from the nuts. The coffee flavor was noticeable but subtle and melded wonderfully with the chocolate. Folks, this one's gonna be a repeat offender!

Preheat to 375°F and grease up your pan of choice, be it a 12-cup muffin pan or mini-loaf pan or something else entirely.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugars, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Mix well, making sure all the brown sugary lumps are gone.
In a smaller bowl, mix together the coffee, melted butter, egg, and vanilla until well-combined. Pour this liquid mixture over the dry ingredients and gently but quickly stir to blend. Stop when the dry ingredients are just moistened and fold in the toffee bits and nuts. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups or loaf holes and bake for about 15 minutes for muffins, 30 minutes for mini loaves, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

That should give you an extra kick in the AM! Why does it not surprise me you added more cinnamon? Am sending both the recipe AND the caffeine curve to my daughter immediately. A coffee fiend if I ever knew one.

I am not a plain coffee fan, but when coffee is tempered by sweet flavors I am hooked. Chocolate (mochas) or sweet doughs and batter, either one, I LOVE it. Coffee is one of my favorite FLAVORS, I just don't like coffee, haha. So I am going to have to try this.

Dollhouse was weird. I cannot believe they never showed Epitaph 1 and then showed Epitaph 2 as the finale. How little sense would it have made. SO odd. Hooray for ITunes.

I'm not surprised you added more cinnamon Grace; I'm sure it was the perfect flavoring with the coffee/toffee thing going on. These little loaves look addictive, so I must make my own to go with my coffe this week! Thanks, I'll let ya know how they turn out. :)

LOL, Grace, I love your chart. This is how my husband drinks coffee. He only drinks espresso, though, so it works veryvery quickly. He'd love this cake. So will I! Thanks for the jazzing up. The coffee part and the recipe part....

At the ripe ol' age of 17 I have only just become a coffee addict this past week! Of course I pour a heavy amount of white chocolate mocha creamer into it... But WALNUTS, TOFFEE BITS, and COFFEE, you've got to be kidding me. Looks divine!

We could both go to a coffee anonymous meeting together and feel very comfortable (at least I would!) This cake with all the toffee, nuts & coffee sounds great! Love that caffeine curve....hilarious and so true.

Hahah that last picture is awesome!! And so is the caffeine curve :) I too can never get enough. And Michael loves cake for breakfast. In fact, he had some leftover birthday cake just this morning with his eggs. :)

I've had this tummy funk for a day or so now, with absolutely zero appetite. I am so glad I checked in today. Not only do I get to see coconut butterscotch cookie pie, I also get toffee coffee ooey gooey cake. Thanks for getting the ol' stomach back to where it needs to be. Hungry!

I love the caffeine curve! I hit top of the peak after just a couple of shots of espresso, though... This morning my quirky espresso machine messed up three shots - heresy! Terrible. We drank them anyway. The cake sounds delicious - love the grouchy, coffee craving cake shot. (:

How did I miss this post!!?!?! This looks awesome! And I am obsessed with that coffee chart!!! I almost died when I read all of the different points of coffee withdrawal or consumption throughout the day haha!